Fake healers blamed for child sacrifice
Oct 04, 2010
TRADITIONAL healers and spiritual leaders (<i>Batuusa</i>) in Butaleja district have blamed fake healers for child sacrifice in Uganda.
By Daniel Edyegu
TRADITIONAL healers and spiritual leaders (Batuusa) in Butaleja district have blamed fake healers for child sacrifice in Uganda.
They argued that genuine traditional healers do not use human bodies to appease spirits while performing rituals, but animals.
Speaking during a meeting with police officers from the child and family protection unit at Nampologoma Hotel on Thursday, Edirisa Lubalire, the chairperson of the Butaleja traditional healers association, said the fake healers had ruined the image of their trade.
“Often, fake healers are not registered and do not have established contacts. We don’t sacrifice people. We treat them. We are supposed to use goats, chicken and cattle for sacrifice, not humans,†Lubalire said.
He reported that the activities of traditional healers registered with the Uganda National Integrated Forum for Traditional Health Practitioners are surveilled daily in order to weed out the fake practitioners.
Lubalire stressed that a registered member must have a place of residence and prove his skills in the use of herbs to treat illnesses to the vetting team.
He added that only then will the person be given a certificate of operation to carry out the trade.
However, Abdallah Muyimah, a spiritual healer, said some traditional healers resort to human sacrifice after trying all herbal prescriptions on patients in vain.
“Like any other business, the aim of this trade is to make profits. Because the traditional healer needs more money and does not want to admit failure, he will prescribe something more difficult for the patient; such as looking for a child to sacrifice in order to cure their illness,†Muyima stressed.
Spiritual healers, locally known as the Batuusa in Lunyole, are chosen in a cultural ceremony and each one represents a clan in Bunyole. They are charged with casting out bad spirits and taking care of the clan spirits.
Marion Kutusa, the eastern regional child and family protection unit officer, said the meeting was aimed at partnering with traditional healers to step up the campaign against child sacrifice in the region.
Kutusa noted that since January, four children had been killed in Pallisa and Budaka in suspected ritual sacrifice.
“The vice was common in the central region particularly in the districts of Mukono, Masaka, Kampala and Kayunga. Lately, we noticed that it’s spilling to the eastern region.
We thought it important to engage the traditional healers in fighting the crime before it gets out of hand,†she said.
TRADITIONAL healers and spiritual leaders (Batuusa) in Butaleja district have blamed fake healers for child sacrifice in Uganda.
They argued that genuine traditional healers do not use human bodies to appease spirits while performing rituals, but animals.
Speaking during a meeting with police officers from the child and family protection unit at Nampologoma Hotel on Thursday, Edirisa Lubalire, the chairperson of the Butaleja traditional healers association, said the fake healers had ruined the image of their trade.
“Often, fake healers are not registered and do not have established contacts. We don’t sacrifice people. We treat them. We are supposed to use goats, chicken and cattle for sacrifice, not humans,†Lubalire said.
He reported that the activities of traditional healers registered with the Uganda National Integrated Forum for Traditional Health Practitioners are surveilled daily in order to weed out the fake practitioners.
Lubalire stressed that a registered member must have a place of residence and prove his skills in the use of herbs to treat illnesses to the vetting team.
He added that only then will the person be given a certificate of operation to carry out the trade.
However, Abdallah Muyimah, a spiritual healer, said some traditional healers resort to human sacrifice after trying all herbal prescriptions on patients in vain.
“Like any other business, the aim of this trade is to make profits. Because the traditional healer needs more money and does not want to admit failure, he will prescribe something more difficult for the patient; such as looking for a child to sacrifice in order to cure their illness,†Muyima stressed.
Spiritual healers, locally known as the Batuusa in Lunyole, are chosen in a cultural ceremony and each one represents a clan in Bunyole. They are charged with casting out bad spirits and taking care of the clan spirits.
Marion Kutusa, the eastern regional child and family protection unit officer, said the meeting was aimed at partnering with traditional healers to step up the campaign against child sacrifice in the region.
Kutusa noted that since January, four children had been killed in Pallisa and Budaka in suspected ritual sacrifice.
“The vice was common in the central region particularly in the districts of Mukono, Masaka, Kampala and Kayunga. Lately, we noticed that it’s spilling to the eastern region.
We thought it important to engage the traditional healers in fighting the crime before it gets out of hand,†she said.